Books I Read in 2019

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It's that time again!  Time to look back at the books I read in 2019 (link to Goodreads provided so that you can click and find more information if any of these titles look interesting to you) and list my favorites. Please tell me your favorite reads from the last year in the comments - it's my favorite part of doing this annual book blog!

One of the reasons I track my reading is to see what genres are going well (in quantity and quality), what areas I need to pick it up, what things are new, and what things stay consistent over time.  The synopsis of that is:

•  High Point:  I really loved the fiction reads this year - this might be the best group since I started keeping track.  
• Needs improvement:  I would like to read more and better nonfiction books next year, so please send those recommendations my way. 
• Best surprise:  I've started reading Harry Potter (for the first time!) with Zoey, and to my great surprise, I'm enjoying it as much as she is.  I'm not a big fantasy person, but this series has some good hooks for fantasy newbies (such as -- the houses are like a personality sorting system; it's a coming of age, boarding school story; there's a significant sports subplot; and there's lots of fun and humor mixed in).
• #Goals:  I haven't read any classics for the past couple years; relatedly, I've never read any of Jane Austen's books; so this year, one of my goals is to read at least one Jane Austen book. 

And now, here are this year's tops:

Fiction:
"The Lager Queens of Minnesota" by J. Ryan Stradal
"Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
"An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones
"Underground Airlines" by Ben Winters
"Daisy Jones and the Six"by Taylor Jenkins Reid
"Ask Again, Yes" by Mary Beth Keane
"Crossing to Safety" by Wallace Stegner
"The Scholar" by Dervla McTiernan
The first 3 Harry Potters

(My two very favorites were "Where the Crawdads Sing" and "Ask Again, Yes")

Nonfiction:

Memoir:
1.  "Becoming: by Michelle Obama
2.  "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" by Lori Gottlieb

Christian Living:
1.  "You Who:  Why You Matter and How to Deal with It" by Rachel Jankovic
2.  "It's Not Supposed to Be This Way" by Lysa Terkeurst

Books that Make you Think:
1.  "Trick Mirror:  Reflections on Self Delusion" by Jia Toliento
2.  "I'm Still Here:  Black Dignity in a World made for Whiteness" by Austin Channing Brown
3.  "The Eating Instinct:  Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America" by Virginia Sole Smith
4.  "Uniquely Human:  A Different Way of Seeing Autism" by Barry Prizant

These are my favorites - let me know yours!